Thinking about History and the Future

Against Transhumanism

In this 2016 episode of the Singulary Weblog, Nikola Danaylov (Socrates) interviews Professor Richard Jones about the arguments he put forward in Against Transhumanism: The delusion of technological transcendence. The discussion that ensues between the two of them is well worth overhearing.

The two discuss a wide range of topics, including Dr. Jones’ work in nanotechnology, his book on that topic (Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life), his blog by the same title, whether or not technological progress is accelerating, transhumanism and its origins, technological determinism, physics, Frank J. Tipler‘s claim that “the singularity is inevitable”, the importance of molecules as the most fundamental units of biological processing, Aubrey de Grey‘s quest for the indefinite extension of life, the importance of ethics and politics in the road ahead for AI and other aspects of technological advancement, and several others topics.